Two Most Effective Ways to Convert NSF to PST Format

If you are planning to switch from Lotus Notes to Outlook client, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will be discussing how to export email messages and other data from NSF to PST clients. Keep reading this article to convert NSF to PST.

Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook are two popular email clients used by millions of email users worldwide. Although both are mainly used as an email application, they are different from each other. I have often seen that many users switch from one email client to another. There are plenty of reasons why users may need to change their email client. But switching from one email program to another can be a daunting task for users. Let us suppose that you were using the Lotus Notes client in your previous organization. Now you have switched to a new organization where you need to use Microsoft Outlook, a different email client. What will you do? Both these email clients create different files to store the mailbox data. So you cannot import or export your old email messages from NSF to PST just like that.

Table of Content

Lotus Notes

IBM Notes, formerly known as Lotus Notes, is just an email client for many people. Although email is probably the most distinct part of Lotus Notes, it has many other features as well which includes instant messaging, calendars, blogs, personal directory, and online forums. Just like any other email client, it also uses the standard-based mail protocols such as POP3 and SMTP.

IBM Notes creates a database file to store all the collaborative business information such as email and calendar data. This database file is saved in NSF aka Notes Storage Facility format that stores data in document units called “notes”.

Microsoft Outlook

On the other hand, Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular email clients around the world. It is a part of the well-known Microsoft Office suite. Although it is mainly used as an email application, it provides you many useful features like contact manager, calendar, task manager, note-taking, journal, etc. It supports POP3 and IMAP protocols that enable users to import emails from servers that support these protocols.

Microsoft Outlook stores all the mailbox data into an Outlook data file called PST (personal storage table). The mailbox data includes email messages, contacts, calendars, notes, tasks, journals, etc.

NSF to PST Converter

Sometimes it may happen that you need to convert NSF to PST due to any reason. Since both clients support different file formats, email migration becomes a difficult task for users. If you are wondering how to import or export NSF file to Outlook, I will help you with that. Microsoft Outlook supports PST format so you need to convert NSF to PST in order to migrate your old mailbox data from Lotus Notes to Outlook. Email conversion between NSF to PST is only possible through a professional converter utility, called NSF to PST Converter. There are many software vendors in the market which provide such solutions with free demo or trial version. Before you can purchase any such paid software, you should try an easy manual trick.

How to Convert NSF to PST?

In this action, I am sharing an easy manual trick that will help you to export email messages and other data from NSF to PST. First, you need to export Lotus Notes email messages into a new file of Comma Separated Value or Structured Text format. After that, you can import this new file to Microsoft Outlook. Let us start the manual process of migrating NSF to PST.

Launch Lotus Notes application on your system, and open the NSF file.
Then click the File option on the main Menu bar. Select Export in the options.
On the Export dialog box, specify a location to save this new file. Also, click the drop-down arrow next to Save as type option.
There are two options, and you can select any: Comma Separated Value or Structured Text. Type a name for this new file, and click Export.
Now you need to import this new file to Microsoft Outlook. Launch Microsoft Outlook on your system.
Click Open on the File menu. You will see an Import option in the list. Click it to launch the Import and Export Wizard.
Select Import from another program or file in the options, and click Next to continue the process.
Now choose Comma Separated Value (Windows) as a file format to import from and click Next to continue the process.
Here you need to browse the CSV file you have created earlier.
Select a destination folder where you want to import the data and click Next to continue the process.
The process is being conducted on your system. Please wait until it gets completed. It will not take more than a couple of minutes.
After the completion of the process, click Finish.

Professional Solution to Convert NSF to PST

If you cannot use the above manual trick or it does not work for you, then it is better to look forward to a professional solution. I have already mentioned that there are so many vendors in the online marketplace which provide Lotus Notes to PST Converter tools. But choosing the best option out of many is always very difficult. Most of the vendors provide a demo version of NSF to PST Converter tool for a free evaluation. So before you can purchase any such paid software, you must download the free demo version. Shoviv NSF to PST Converter tool is one of the best solution available in the online marketplace that helps you convert NSF to PST without requiring any prior technical knowledge.

Below are the key features you are getting in this software:

You can export everything from NSF to PST which include email messages, contacts, calendars, journals, etc
It supports batch conversion which means you can select multiple NSF files at the same time for conversion
It maintains the folder hierarchy during and after NSF to PST conversion
Any technical or non-technical user can use this software without requiring any prior technical expertise

Before you purchase the licensed versions of this software, you must download the demo version for a free evaluation. By using the demo version, you can save the first 50 email items of each mailbox folder you select in the NSF database file(s) into new PST file(s).

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed the difference between Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook. Also, we have learned how to convert NSF to PST. There are two ways to do that: either you can try a manual solution shared above in the article, or you can use a professional utility like Shoviv NSF to PST Converter.

Author
Recent Posts

Stuart

Stuart Clark is working as a technical content writer at Shoviv Software for the last 5 years. He specializes in crafting informative and engaging articles for diverse audiences. With a solid understanding of complex technologies, he explains complex concepts in a simpler manner that Leyman users can also understand easily. He has vast expertise in writing articles related to email migration and conversion niches. Apart from that, he likes to research newer technologies and gain knowledge to stay updated with the current trends.